TY - SER AU - Kiefer, Karly AU - Ranganathan, Malini TI - Politics of Participation in Cape Town’s Slum Upgrading: Role of Productive Tension PY - 2020/// PB - Sage, N2 - This article studies Cape Town’s new slum “reblocking” paradigm, in which settlements are reorganized, housing upgraded, and services delivered in situ. Though not without structural and long-term challenges, research shows that for those waiting for post-apartheid housing, reblocking provides an alternative to eviction and resettlement. Through primary and secondary research over 2014–2016 on four reblocking pilot projects covering six hundred households, we argue that reblocking hinges not on consensus but rather the “productive tension” generated in the negotiation of visions and outcomes. We draw on critical theories of agonism and participation to suggest that such tension plays a role in producing legitimacy UR - https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X18761119 ER -